The Way to the Tree of Life Jewish practice entails fulfilling many laws. Our diet is limited, our days to work are defined, and every aspect of life has governing directives. Is observance of all the laws easy? Is a perfectly righteous life close to our heart and near to our limbs? A righteous life seems to be an impossible goal! However, in the Torah, our great teacher Moshe, Moses, declared that perfect fulfillment of all religious law is very near and easy for each of us. Every word of the Torah rings true in every generation. Lesson one explores how the Tanya resolved these questions. It will shine a light on the infinite strength that is latent in each Jewish soul. When that unending holy desire emerges, observance becomes easy. Lesson One: The Infinite Strength of the Jewish Soul The title page of the Tanya states: A Collection of Teachings ספר PART ONE לקוטי אמרים חלק ראשון Titled הנקרא בשם The Book of the Beinonim ספר של בינונים Compiled from sacred books and Heavenly מלוקט מפי ספרים ומפי סופרים קדושי עליון נ״ע teachers, whose souls are in paradise; based מיוסד על פסוק כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו upon the verse, “For this matter is very near to לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה ”;you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it בעזה״י and explaining clearly how, in both a long and short way, it is exceedingly near, with the aid of the Holy One, blessed be He. "1 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life From the outset of his work therefore Rav Shneur Zalman made plain that the Tanya is a guide for those he called “beinonim.” Beinonim, derived from the Hebrew bein, which means “between,” are individuals who are in the middle, neither paragons of virtue, tzadikim, nor sinners, rishoim. Beinonim are a unique type, deserving of their own book, which is the Tanya. Tzadikim have a different book that includes other lessons and counsel.1 A person with the status of beinoni was created with limited abilities. He can’t become a tzadik, but this in no way diminishes his value. In fact, he is no less important in Heaven than a tzadik, as he fulfills the will of Hashem, and gives as much pleasure to Hashem as a tzadik. Hashem loves human effort and toil, and many individuals who reach the tzadik level no longer strain to achieve holy behavior. A beinoni must always exert effort. The special struggle of the beinoni makes him more treasured than many tzadikim, who always are perfect, as it gives the Almighty pleasure to see effort exerted on His behalf. Therefore, if you are a beinoni, as all of us can be, realize that you have a special role in the kingdom of Heaven, embrace it, and learn the Tanya to glean insights how to improve your service of God, Avodas Hashem. ! Ways to reach Hashem The title page of the Tanya states that it is based on the verse “Ki karov elecha hadavar mi’od bificha ubilvavcha la’asoso,” (Devarim 30:14) “For the matter of serving Hashem is very close to you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it,” and on sacred teachings that explain in a “long and short way” how service of Hashem is truly very close to us. One might think that it is very difficult, almost an unattainable feat, to fulfill all the commandments of the Torah. The Tanya 1! Chassidim teach that the holy work Noam Elimelech is the guide book for tzadikim. ! "2 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life will show us that this is not the case; it is rather very close to us, and very attainable. Through the Tanya’s concepts we will be able to see that complete service of Hashem is very accessible to us. The Tanya details a long way of arriving at the proper service of Hashem, but also a shorter path as well. Its form is to begin with many questions and then, beginning with the second chapter and then throughout the rest of the book, provide answers. In its first chapter the Tanya reads: ! We learnt in a baraisa (a Rabbinic text from the second century that was not included in the Mishna, the corpus of traditional Rabbinic legal writings of that era) at the end of the third chapter of tractate Niddah (the last tractate in the Babylonian Talmud) that when the soul comes into the world it is led to recite an oath to "Be a tzadik, and not a rasha.” Then it accepts a second oath, "And even if the whole world tells you that you are tzadik, you are to view yourself !as a rasha, an evil doer.” The lesson here is that you must not be at all fazed by the “world.” A Jew must have the strength to ignore what society says, and know that sometimes one must stand against the entire world.2 Even if the entire world tells you they consider you to be a tzadik, in your eyes feel that you are a rasha. 2! Our sages teach that Abraham was called Avraham Ha’Ivri because he had the courage of convictions in that he was willing to stand alone against the pagan thinking of the entire world. One of the great works of twentieth century Chassidic thought is Shem Mishmuel, an eight volume collection of lessons composed by Rav Shmuel Bornstein, (1855-1926) the great Rebbe of Sochatshov. Shem Mishmuel is unique for his masterful combination of intellectual rigor, emotional impact, and Chassidic breadth. With Hashem's help, his insights will appear frequently !in these notes throughout this book. Rav Bornstein teaches that the first step in holy achievement is Azus Dkdusha, holy brazenness. Holy achievements begin when one stridently progresses towards Hashem with a sense of confidence bordering on arrogance! He taught that every city in the land of Israel had a special quality to its atmosphere and would encourage a different holy character trait. The city Shechem, Nablus, led to a feeling of confidence and holy brazenness. When we first entered Israel we had to first travel to Shechem as Avraham did when he first entered Israel, for at the initiation of a Mitzvah campaign, there is nothing better than confidence and strength so as not to be swayed by the naysayers and cynics! (See Shem Mishmuel, parshas Vayishlach pages 12-13.) In his comments to Parshas Bamidbar (page 5) he points out that Jews are counted before a war, for before a battle each Jew must feel Azus Dkdusha, for only with great confidence will we be victorious. A warrior cannot hesitate, be fearful, or meek! Yet when the Jews were not about to face a war, a census was forbidden, for when not engaged in struggle too much confidence and self assuredness leads to arrogance and sin. ! "3 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life this must be understood, as it seems to וצריך להבין דהא תנן [אבות פ"ב] ואל תהי רשע בפני עצמך contradict a mishna in Avos chapter two which says, "Do not view yourself as a rasha." ! The Tanya further explains that logic would negate the baraisa we just learned from Niddah that one should view himself as a rasha. וגם אם יהיה בעיניו כרשע ירע לבבו ויהיה עצב If a person is a rasha in his own eyes, he will ולא יוכל לעבוד השם בשמחה ובטוב לבב be depressed, and unable to serve Hashem with joy. ! ! ! It does not seem reasonable that one should always adopt a worldview that will inhibit mitzvah observance. ואם לא ירע לבבו כלל מזה יכול לבוא לידי ! ! "קלות ח ! And if considering himself a rasha does not bring him down, he might fall into a state of apathy, and make light of service of Hashem, Heaven forbid. ! ! "4 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life Instead of viewing himself as a rasha, an evil doer, one must always find good “points” about himself, 3 and serve Hashem with simcha, profound joy. So how are we then to understand the baraisa in Niddah that one should always consider himself as if he is a rasha? There are five levels: tzadik vitov lo, a righteous man who has good, tzadik vira lo, a righteous man who has bad, rasha vitov lo, a sinner who has good, rasha vira lo, a sinner who has bad, !and beinoni, the middle one. The simple meaning of the term “vitov lo” is someone who has a good and pleasant life in this world, and “vira lo” is someone who has a difficult life in this world. The Tanya will not use the simple explanation; rather he will follow the explanation of the Zohar Hakadosh. ! אך ביאור הענין כי הנה מצינו בגמרא ה' חלוקות. צדיק The Talmud explains that a tzadik vitov lo is a tzadik gamor, a וטוב לו צדיק ורע לו רשע וטוב לו רשע ורע לו ובינוני. completely upright person. A tzadik vira lo is a tzadik sheaino gamor, a ופירשו בגמרא צדיק וטוב לו צדיק גמור צדיק ורע לו צדיק righteous man with flaws. In the Ra’aya Me’hemna in parshas Mishpatim, it is explained that a ' ' שאינו גמור וברעיא מהימנא פ משפטים פי צדיק ורע לו ,tzadik vira lo is a tzadik who has evil but it is his possession, for it is bent to שהרע שבו כפוף לטוב וכו .his goodness! He has a yetzer hara, an evil urge, however his urge for holiness is stronger and more powerful.